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One Piece at a Time Lyrics
Well, I left Kentucky back in '49
And went to Detroit workin' on assembly line
The first year they had me puttin' wheels on Cadillacs
Everyday I'd watch them beauties roll by
And sometimes I'd hang my head and cry
'Cause I always wanted me one that was long and black
One day I devised myself a plan
That should be the envy of most any man
I'd sneak it out of there in a lunchbox in my hand
Now gettin' caught meant gettin fired
But I figured I'd have it all by the time I retired
I'd have me a car worth atleast 100 grand
I'd get it one piece at a time
And it wouldn't cost me a dime
You'll know it's me when I come through your town
I'm gonna ride around in style
I'm gonna drive everybody wild
'Cause I'll have the only one there is around
So the very next day when I punched in
With my my big lunchbox and with help from friend
I left that day with a lunchbox full of gear
I've never considered myself a thief
But GM wouldn't miss just one little piece
Especially if I strung it out over several years
The first day I got me a fuel pump
And the next day I got me an engine and a trunk
Then I got me a transmission and all the chrome
The little things I could get in my big lunchbox
Like nuts, bolts and all four shocks
But the big stuff we snuck out in my buddy's mobile home
Now up to now my plan went alright
'Till we tried to put it all together one night
And that's when we noticed that something was definitely wrong
The transmission was a '53 and the motor turned out to be a '73
And when we tried to put in the bolts all the holes were gone
So we drilled it out so that it would fit
And with a little bit o' help from an adaptor kit
We had that engine runnin' just like a song
Now the headlights, they was another sight
We had two on the left and one on the right
But when we pulled out the switch all three of 'em come on
The back end looked kinda funny, too
But we put it together and when we got through
Well, that's when we noticed that we only had one tailfin
About that time, my wife walked out
And I could see in her eyes that she had her doubts
But she opened the door and said, "Honey, take me for a spin"
So we drove up town just to get the tags
And I headed a ride on down main drag
I could hear everybody laughin' for blocks around
But up there at the courthouse they didn't laugh
'Cause to type it up it took the whole staff
And when they got through, the title weighed sixty pounds
I got it one piece at a time
And it didn't cost me a dime
You'll know it's me when I come through your town
I'm gonna ride around in style
I'm gonna drive everybody wild
'Cause I'll have the only one there is around
Spoken:
Uh, yeah, Red Rider this is the Cottonmouth in the Pyscho-Billy Cadillac, Come on... Uh, this is the Cottonmouth and negatory on the cost of this machine, there Red Rider. You might say I went right up to the factory and picked it up; it's cheaper that way. Uh, what model is it? Well, it's a '49, '50, '51, '52, '53, '54, '55, '56, '57, '58, '59 automobile, it's a '60, '61... (fade)
And went to Detroit workin' on assembly line
The first year they had me puttin' wheels on Cadillacs
Everyday I'd watch them beauties roll by
And sometimes I'd hang my head and cry
'Cause I always wanted me one that was long and black
One day I devised myself a plan
That should be the envy of most any man
I'd sneak it out of there in a lunchbox in my hand
Now gettin' caught meant gettin fired
But I figured I'd have it all by the time I retired
I'd have me a car worth atleast 100 grand
And it wouldn't cost me a dime
You'll know it's me when I come through your town
I'm gonna ride around in style
I'm gonna drive everybody wild
'Cause I'll have the only one there is around
With my my big lunchbox and with help from friend
I left that day with a lunchbox full of gear
I've never considered myself a thief
But GM wouldn't miss just one little piece
Especially if I strung it out over several years
The first day I got me a fuel pump
And the next day I got me an engine and a trunk
Then I got me a transmission and all the chrome
The little things I could get in my big lunchbox
Like nuts, bolts and all four shocks
But the big stuff we snuck out in my buddy's mobile home
Now up to now my plan went alright
'Till we tried to put it all together one night
And that's when we noticed that something was definitely wrong
The transmission was a '53 and the motor turned out to be a '73
And when we tried to put in the bolts all the holes were gone
So we drilled it out so that it would fit
And with a little bit o' help from an adaptor kit
We had that engine runnin' just like a song
Now the headlights, they was another sight
We had two on the left and one on the right
But when we pulled out the switch all three of 'em come on
The back end looked kinda funny, too
But we put it together and when we got through
Well, that's when we noticed that we only had one tailfin
About that time, my wife walked out
And I could see in her eyes that she had her doubts
But she opened the door and said, "Honey, take me for a spin"
So we drove up town just to get the tags
And I headed a ride on down main drag
I could hear everybody laughin' for blocks around
But up there at the courthouse they didn't laugh
'Cause to type it up it took the whole staff
And when they got through, the title weighed sixty pounds
And it didn't cost me a dime
You'll know it's me when I come through your town
I'm gonna ride around in style
I'm gonna drive everybody wild
'Cause I'll have the only one there is around
Uh, yeah, Red Rider this is the Cottonmouth in the Pyscho-Billy Cadillac, Come on... Uh, this is the Cottonmouth and negatory on the cost of this machine, there Red Rider. You might say I went right up to the factory and picked it up; it's cheaper that way. Uh, what model is it? Well, it's a '49, '50, '51, '52, '53, '54, '55, '56, '57, '58, '59 automobile, it's a '60, '61... (fade)
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yeah, this is about a guy who builds a car from stolen pices. I love cash's sense of humour, but i also love his ability to be soulful. I've noticed that this song sounds very similar to boy named sue... hmmmmmm :-p
JR Was the master. There will be another ... Someone write a parody about building a computer like this... So versatile
i think its about a guy who builds a car out of parts he steals from the factory he works in?
Whoever posted these lyrics is awesome. this is great song, too. It shows the versatility of Johnny Cash- he sang Gospel, Country, Rock and even humourous songs. He's the only man aside from Elvis who had been inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame AND the Rock'n'Roll Hall of Fame.
funny in a dumb kinda way
Random FYI: You know they (GM) acutally built him this car (or as close as they could to it). Just a bit of trivia for ya.
this song is great.
the only part i dont get is-
But the big stuff we snuck out in my buddy's mobile home
Hey, Joshs1ofakindxj, when he sings, "But the big stuff we snuck out y buddy's mobile home", he is saying that the parts that were too big to sneakout in his lunchbox, he got his friend to take home, probably by stashing it in the boot (trunk) of the car. I.e. door panels, seat, tires, etc, etc.
Hope this helps.
Cash is God
Johnny Cash is an original punk rocker, and this song is one of his punk rock songs.
i love the whole damn the man feeling johnny has, especially in this song.he couldnt afford the car he wanted, but he would be damned if he wasnt gunna get one..